Following the success of the Eurochild Members’ Day attended by Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit, the meeting of the EU Alliance for Investing in Children was an important opportunity to discuss directly with officials working on the file from the Commissioner’s cabinet, and from the social inclusion and finance units.
On behalf of the EU Alliance, Eurochild presented the joint position on the Child Guarantee and its link to the EU budget.
The meeting confirmed the intentions of the European Commission to publish a proposal for a Council Recommendation on the Child Guarantee by early 2021. The importance of national implementation plans was emphasised as well as the recently amended EU budget allowing for 5% of European Social Fund Plus resources in every EU country to be invested in tackling child poverty.
Eurochild and EU Alliance representatives emphasised the need to carry forward the comprehensive approach of the 2013 Commission Recommendation on Investing in Children, addressing the dimensions of poverty and social exclusion experienced by children and their families in an integrated way (access to financial resources; access to services; and opportunity to participate in decision making and in cultural leisure activities). We furthermore urged the European Commission to issue the proposal as soon as possible to enable financial programming of the 5% to happen as soon and as strategically as possible.
The EU Alliance brings together over 20 European Networks dedicated to promoting the fight against child poverty in Europe. The meeting follows from the joint influencing work on the Child Guarantee, which includes written statements and outreach. In May the EU Alliance also held an online meeting with representatives of the EU Member States, attended by over 20 government officials from across the EU.